Osama bin Laden’s three wives and two of his daughters have been sentenced to
45 days in prison for illegally entering Pakistan

Amal Ahmed Abdel-Fatah al-Sadah and Osama bin Laden

By Rob Crilly, in Islamabad

10:54AM BST 02 Apr 2012

"The judge has announced a one and a half month imprisonment to all the five accused. The punishment was announced today. He has also imposed a fine of 10,000 rupees," Zakarya Ahmad Abd al-Fattah, the Yemeni brother of one of the wives, said.

A Pakistani court ordered their deportation as soon as possible.

Muhammad Aamir said the period of detention began on March 3, when they were formally arrested on charges of illegal entry and residency in Pakistan and that they would continue to be held at their villa in Islamabad.

"The interior secretary has been directed to arrange their deportation," Aamir told reporters outside the home in the capital, where the al-Qaeda leader's widows are living and which officials have declared a "sub jail".

"I think it will be completed probably in two weeks," he added.

Zakarya Ahmad Abd al-Fattah, the Yemeni brother of bin Laden's youngest and reputedly favourite wife, Amal, confirmed the sentence and said the judge had also imposed a fine of 10,000 rupees ($110) each, as a precursor to repatriation.

"The court has also given direction to the government to arrange the necessary documents for their earliest repatriation, so that they can go to their own country as soon as possible," Fattah told reporters.

Bin Laden's two other wives are Saudi.

Last week The Daily Telegraph revealed that bin Laden’s wives had scattered across Pakistani in the wake of 9/11. They met up with the terrorist leader in the north-western city of Peshawar the following year, and the world’s most wanted man went on to father four children during his time in the country.

In practice the women will serve 14 days in prison because they have already been in detention.

Bin Laden was shot and killed in May last year by US Special Forces who stormed his house in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad after a decade-long manhunt.

Analysts have said Pakistani officials may prefer a lengthy prison sentence for the women to prevent them from revealing details on how bin Laden was able to stay in Pakistan for years undetected, possibly assisted by the security establishment.